Christiana: from shipwreck to sailing

The salvage marked the beginning of a new era for Christiania in another way. While the yacht was on the seabed, Carl Emil Snr formally handed over ownership of the vessel to his three sons – in order of age: Carl Emil Jnr, Børre and Johan – for the nominal sum of 1 kroner.

And the boys didn’t take long in making the most of their new custody. A voyage east through the Göta Canal to St Petersburg and the White Sea in 2003, was followed by a trip to the far north to Spitsbergen the next year. Then, in 2005, Christiania headed west
(via the Caledonian Canal) to make a complete circuit of the Atlantic, visiting the Cape Verde Islands, the Caribbean, Cuba, USA, Canada, Greenland and Iceland, returning home four years later in 2007.

For, as Carl Emil makes clear, despite having lost their beloved family boat to the ocean once, they have no intention of preserving her as a museum piece out of fear of losing her again. “She’s both a cultural artefact and a family boat,” he says. “It’s a good feeling to maintain that heritage – but she also has to serve as a family yacht. And that means going sailing, which means taking risks. It can’t be helped.”

FREE CLASSIC BOAT NEWSLETTER

About Us

Classic Boat is the magazine for the world’s most beautiful boats. Packed with stunning images, we have the inside stories of the great classic yachts and motorboats afloat today, as well as fascinating tales from yesteryear and the latest from the wooden boat building scene around the world.